Field of the Invention
An automatic weapon system comprising a bolt driven gas operated machine gun and an ammunition magazine including a continuous feed chain to feed cartridges to the gas operated machine gun for continuous fire.
Description of the Prior Art
Various automatic weapons or machine guns and ammunition magazines have been designed to continuously feed cartridges to an automatic weapon or machine gun for rapid fire. A number of these designed are described in the prior art discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,629 relates to an ammunition magazine for beltless fed ammunition comprising endless ammunition. To prevent slack from developing a chain tightener is provided with a brake to influence a spring constant of the chain tightener as a function of the direction of tightening and the speed of the clamping movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,948 discloses an ammunition feed device an endlessly guided ammunition feed chain to feed ammunition into the weapon and at least two deflection units to guide the ammunition feed chain.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,815 relates to an extractor for a firearm which incorporates internal extraction to withdraw a cartridge from the chamber of the firearm comprising an outwardly extending lip for engagement in a cavity defined in the rear of the cartridge. The cavity includes an inwardly extending flange and the lip of the extractor is positioned behind the flange during extraction. The extractor includes a first pivot point about which the extractor rotates in order to allow the extractor lip to enter the cartridge cavity. The extractor also includes a second pivot point about which the extractor exerts a positive rotational force to extract the cartridge from the chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,110 shows an ammunition feed system comprising a double ammunition rack for different munitions, a loading device to load the munitions one by one and an intermediate device to transfer the munitions from the rack towards the loading device. Each rack comprises a conveyor having two endless chains which is selectively coupled to a star-wheel which forms the intermediate transfer device. This wheel may revolve in two opposite direction in order to extract the munitions from one rack or to bring the munitions back to the original rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,192 describes an ammunition magazine comprising an endless ammunition conveyor running in a serpentine path including a succession of units consisting of a pair of rigidly connected tubes that receive ammunition rounds in snug-fitting relation. The tubes are pivotally interconnected by links of a single conveyor chain driven by plural drive sprockets to index the tubes to a single magazine port through which uploading/downloading of ammunition rounds is conducted. Guide rollers, fitted on the tubes at positions laterally spaced from the conveyor chain, roll on horizontal tracks within the magazine to provide conveyor support and guidance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,569 teaches an M16 type rifle capable of being fired in automatic or semiautomatic mode utilizing a blow-back system with a forcing cone breech and a matching conical bolt face. The blowback bolt assembly allows elimination of the gas operating system of the conventional M16 rifle. In addition, this allows the rifle to be chambered for short low-pressure pistol cartridges such as the 45 ACP and the 40 S&W.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,972 relates to an ammunition feed system wherein a single layer of ammunition is conveyed in a magazine by two independent closed loop conveyors disposed side by side in parallel serpentine paths. Live rounds are fed on parallel output paths into first and second expansion rotor systems which, in turn, supply the rounds to a pair of feed rotors which insert the rounds alternately into a gun feeding conveyor. Spent rounds are withdrawn from the conveyor by a pair of return rotors, which, in turn, supply third and fourth expansion rotors, which return the spent rounds to the first and second parallel serpentine paths. The feed and return rotors contain pockets for receiving rounds alternating with surfaces for guiding rounds and cooperate with the expansion rotors to double the rate at which ammunition exits the system over that at which it is transferred out of the magazine. Rounds are further positively guided by rotor guide surfaces and auxiliary guiding surfaces during handling by the rotor systems between the magazine and gun feeding conveyor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,940 shows an ammunition storage container or magazine comprising an endless ladder-type ammunition conveyor arranged in a serpentine formation consisting of a plurality of straight line path sections and interconnecting, tightly folded turnaround path sections. The conveyor includes a succession of closely spaced ammunition round carriers. Each such carrier comprises a pair of opposed, pivotally interconnected carrier halves configured to automatically assume closed, ammunition round retentive relative positions while disposed in the straight line conveyor path sections and to automatically assume opened, ammunition round releasing relative positions while in the conveyor turnaround path sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,105 discloses a semiautomatic firing mechanism for an autoloading firearm. A generally C-shaped hammer is pivotably mounted behind a bolt, with a transversely-extending sear piece located below the rearwardly-facing open side of the hammer. The open ends of the hammer provide ledges to selectively engage the primary and secondary sear surfaces on the sear piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,180,741 shows a magazine clip comprising a support member, a plurality of parallel rails extending therefrom opposed flanges along each rail, rows of cartridges between the several rails, the cartridge cases of adjacent rows being in contact with one another, the cases each having a groove in its base end engaged by the flanges and having a flange of a diameter less than the diameter of the case engaged between adjacent rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,031,433 teaches an automatic small arm ammunition loading device comprising in combination with a breech bolt an endless band conveyor for feeding the cartridges ratchets secured to the band, one for each cartridge, a pawl adapted to engage the ratchets to push the endless band conveyor forward.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,863 relates to an apparatus for automatically loading small caliber guns actuated by the recoil comprising an endless conveyor or chain of buckets or troughs disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the gun so that the troughs on the underside of the conveyor form housings to receive over an automatic distributor. The distributor positions the projectile in line with the bore of the gun and the ramming breech block to be rammed into the bore of the gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,504,714 shows a machine gun mounting bracket detachably secured thereto, a hopper feed box detachably held on the bracket and having a cartridge outlet opposite the feed way. A rotatable cartridge feeding wheel is disposed between the cartridge outlet and feed way with means controlled by the cartridge feeding means of the gun for rotating the wheel to transfer the cartridges from the feed box to the gun feed way comprising a rack and pinion mechanism.
US 2005/0011346 shows a carrier assembly for a gun comprising a gun bolt carrier disposed to reciprocate axially with respect to the central axis of the gun and a gun bolt disposed to reciprocate axially within the carrier. The gun bolt has a locking groove therein. The assembly also comprises a bolt locking mechanism extending through a portion of the bolt carrier to selectively engage the locking groove and thereby prevent the bolt from moving with respect to the carrier. The assembly further comprises a generally axial groove in a non-reciprocating portion of the gun that engages and selectively rotates the rotatable bolt locking mechanism to selectively lock the bolt to the carrier.
US 2010/0186581 refers to a semi-automatic shotgun including a receiver having an ejection port for expelling an empty cartridge of a fired projectile. The action system includes a bolt attached to a bolt carrier wherein the bolt and the bolt carrier are movable within the receiver and substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis. A surface is attached to at least the bolt carrier or the receiver and a roller is positioned rearward of the ejection port and proximate the surface wherein a resistance is provided to rearward movement of at least the bolt or bolt carrier.
US 2010/028064 relates to a locking systems for use with a firearm comprising a breechblock carrier and a lock spring mechanism that includes a piston. The breechblock carrier is configured to interaction with the piston. Additionally, the example locking system includes a first aperture. The piston is configured to expel fluid through the first aperture when the breechblock carrier retracts.
Additional examples of the prior art are found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,332,060; U.S. Pat. No. 1,903,288; U.S. Pat. No. 2,377,828; U.S. Pat. No. 2,466,578; U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,457; U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,809; U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,368; U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,556; U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,461; U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,074; U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,909; U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,556; U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,984; U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,562; U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,592; U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,677 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,213.